Praised be Jesus Christ and Mary His Most Holy Mother! As everyone knows, on Friday November 11th we will celebrate Veterans’ Day. We all pray for the members of the armed forces of our nation and we pray for all those who have given their lives for our country, making the supreme sacrifice. Some parishioners may recall when the holiday was called Armistice Day. My father always referred to it by the former name until the day of his death. The origin of the holiday goes to the year 1918 when at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month the armistice was signed ending what we call today the First World War. But the day itself was sacred long before, for it is the Feast of the great Soldier-Saint, St. Martin who is the only saint who is given the wondrous title Equal to the Apostles. (In Latin he is called Martinus, Pars-Apostoli!). In 1918 November 11th was a Monday. The hostilities had ceased on Friday November 8, 1918. The German Emperor fled to Holland on Saturday the 9th, and the last Austrian Emperor, the Blessed Karl (beatified in 2004) and his family left Vienna on Sunday the 10th. But the warring parties made the solemn agreement that the armistice would wait to be signed until the Feast of the great St. Martin. For he is the Patron of all soldiers and the patron of both Germany and France. Who was this saint upon whom history waited and what is his story? St. Martin lived at the end of the fourth century and was from the Roman province of Panomia (in present day Hungary). As a young man he enlisted in the Roman Army and was a centurion assigned to the province of Gaul (present day France) where there was fierce fighting. He was considered the bravest and most valiant soldier serving in the Imperial Army at that time. Soon he heard of the preaching of the Faith and became a catechumen, one preparing for baptism. One day the great Martin entered a French village where he found an old man freezing in the cold. He immediately drew his sword and with one graceful swoop, cut his red military cloak in two, giving half of it to the shivering man. That night in a dream Our Lord appeared to Martin wearing the half cloak. And Our Lord said to him, "Martin whatever you have done for the least of my brethren, you have done for me. From now on you shall be a soldier in my army, marching beneath the Cross." Martin was immediately baptized and began to live in the forest as a monk. Soon his reputation for holiness became so great, that when the city of Tours needed a Bishop the townspeople came looking for him to be their Bishop. Rather than seeking this honor, he fled from them and actually hid in a barn under a bale of hay. When the people entered the barn in search of him, he almost eluded them until suddenly a flock of geese ran into the barn, making their characteristic honking noise near the bale of hay and betraying him. He was discovered and the people brought Martin back to Tours there to be made Bishop. He became the holiest Bishop in the world and was noted for his love for the poor and his desire for the priests to live exemplary lives. The bravest soldier of the Roman army now became the greatest bishop in the history of the Church. Page 4 November 6, 2016 There are several charming customs that have grown up around the figure of this great Saint. On his feastday, it is the custom in Germany, France and Austria that families gather in a similar way to our American Thanksgiving and one can guess what is served as the family feast? ROASTED GOOSE. (Some say it is to honor the geese for leading the faithful to Martin; others say it is a punishment for their treachery that they are eaten!) On St. Martin’s Day in Italy the first of the new wine is drunk, wine that had been grapes on the vine just a few weeks earlier. There is an Italian Proverb that goes: Nel giorno di San Martino Si beve il buon vino! (On St. Martin’s Day, one drinks the good wine!) Finally, St. Martin’s last gift to us is the unusual meteorological phenomenon that occurs each year in mid-November in the Northern Hemisphere. At that time there is a slight warming of the earth, almost two months into the autumn season. This is called St. Martin’s summer. O Glorious St. Martin, Equal to the Apostles, pray for us and save us. Watch over our armed forces and watch over our children! May You who gave your life to doing good, and still do so from heaven, bless and protect us. Warm the coldness of our hearts so we may love God as did You. Help us to see Our Lord in the poor and suffering as You did. O St. Martin bring peace to the nations of the world and save us who pray to You! May I then on this Veterans’ Day extend the gratitude of the parish to all of our own parishioners serving in the armed forces and to all our (and my fellow) veterans. (I had the honor to serve in the USAF for eight years). PARISH FOUNDERS AND VOLUNTEERS: But today I also salute another category of parish veterans. Although some did indeed serve in the armed forces, the veterans of whom I write are our founding parishioners. How blessed we are that so many of them are here with us; they are our mothers and fathers in the faith. They saw the dream of a church arise here and their sacrifices have built our parish. How happy I always am, when standing in front of the Church, people approach me and say with true and justified pride, We were here at the beginning. You saw Monsignor Potterton (then Father) unearth the first shovel of dirt. We will ever be grateful for all you have done, dear Veterans of St. Paul the Apostle. May God bless and reward you! To that end, I would like to invite all of the founding parishioners of St. Paul to the 9.30 am Mass on Sunday November 20th, the Solemnity of Christ the King. I would ask them all to sit in the "pie" close to the shrine of the Blessed Mother to receive a blessing and our recognition and gratitude. To that Mass also I would like to invite all parish volunteers so that we may thank them on the Sunday before Thanksgiving and that they, too, may be blessed and recognized. After Mass refreshments will be served in the Lower Church. Page 5 November 6, 2016 ANNIVERSARY AND GALA: I was so moved by the beautiful Mass on October 23rd when 450 of you came to celebrate my 35th anniversary as a priest. I am most grateful to Mrs. Paula Maturo and Mrs. Anne Maione who did so much in planning the Mass on October 23rd. That was such an emotional day for me, particularly thinking of my dear mother and father who were looking on from heaven. So many made that day so special: Msgr. McDonald our preacher, the visiting priests and deacon, our visiting religious sisters and brothers (those in the consecrated life for whom we pray each week), On the 23rd our beautiful and delicious feast was provided by the Lostritto Family, the beverages were provided, served and made by Jesse and Cathy Cromer, and the dessert (the Mr. Softee truck) was provided by Joe and Lisa Palumbo. Msgr. Costa Hall was decorated by Ursula and Andy Coughlin. The food was served by Ursula, Andy, Ronnie Borelli and Ricka Wiemer along with many others especially from the Marian Guild. (Please accept my sincere apologies for anyone who is unmentioned; it is an error, not deliberate). This Year’s Gala was a great success – and for that I must thank Mrs. Paula Maturo for her tireless and endless hours of devotion and effort to make the evening such a success. Mrs. Anne Maione was her able assistant. I am told there were more than 240 tickets sold and everyone seems to have enjoyed the evening. I cannot thank you enough for your devotion to this unworthy priest. I am grateful to the Dinner Committee, Mrs. Anne Maione, Mrs. Tracey Lynch and Mrs. Avril D’Costa. May God bless and reward all of you. I am also grateful to everyone who took ads in the Journal and to Mrs. Jeanne Marie Urban who printed the Journal. (Again please accept my sincere apologies for anyone who is unmentioned; it is an error due to human frailty, not deliberate). GOLF OUTING: At the Gala Dinner it was announced that St. Paul’s First Annual Golf Outing will take place at the Nassau Club in Glen Cove on Monday May 1, 2017. Please save that date. Our honorees at the Golf Outing will be Tom and Marlene Fitzsimmons who will receive the First Annual Monsignor Mario C. Costa Award for their tireless dedication to St. Paul’s for over 40 years. Our honorees will also be Jack (posthumously) and Louise Shannon who will receive the First Annual Sr. Regina Kraft Award for their dedication to St. Paul’s especially the youth of our parish. I am very grateful to Mr. Don Cavanaugh, the Chair of the Golf Committee, and all its members for their effort and work. Our Knights of Columbus, with Mr. James Galante Grand Knight, will be the sponsors for this first ever Golf Outing. LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR: The Little Sisters of the Poor will be at St. Paul’s on the weekend of November 19/20. May God reward your generosity. Please be generous to the Little Sisters and their appeal as you have always done. The beggar of the Community, Sr. Elisabeth Anne has told me that St. Paul’s has always shone in generosity to the Little Sisters CHRISTIANS OF THE HOLY LAND: This weekend we welcome the Christians of the Holy Land, who are largely becoming extinct. Sixty five years ago the Holy Land was 28% Christian. Today it is less than 1.5% Christian. These Christians will be selling their traditional wood carvings of olive wood in Msgr. Costa Hall. Please visit them and purchase a beautiful gift for yourself or a loved one. In Jesus and Mary Monsignor James F. Pereda